Jonathan Lewis, General manager of international markets at AdGent Digital, shares his view of good and bad websites.
Good site: Rapha.cc
A high-end site for cycling enthusiasts, Rapha uses its online presence to great effect by creating a narrative around the ecommerce. The site is slick and its use of imagery impressive, supporting both products and additional features. It never gives the impression of a hard sell, instead Rapha has created a lifestyle to buy into. From an ecommerce perspective, it is simple to navigate – sizing and stock levels are clear, as are returns policies. Very much a global site, pricing and shipping instructions are also clear.
I found the whole experience positive and Rapha harnesses the power of the web, offering a lesson in storytelling and looking after your customers.
Bad site: Foyles.co.uk
As a self-confessed bibliophile, Foyles’ store on London’s Charing Cross Road offers a wonderful experience in browsing and book buying. Online, the story couldn’t be more different. Foyles.co.uk offers little thought to the user journey and visually looks like the early ecommerce sites (read, bad). Vertical and horizontal navigation don’t speak to one another, while on the right you are presented with a lot of random offers. Foyles misses an opportunity here to extend the experience of its loyal customers. The ebooks section does offer a glimpse of how much better the site could be. Here titles are laid out in a clean and descriptive way. Less is definitely more.
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